Lloyd at theDutch Open in 1975 | |
| Country (sports) | |
|---|---|
| Residence | Palm Beach, Florida |
| Born | (1954-08-27)27 August 1954 (age 71) |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $598,092 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 210–259 (44.8%) |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | No. 23 (23 July 1978) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | F (1977Dec) |
| French Open | 3R (1978,1982) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1973,1984,1985) |
| US Open | QF (1984) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 206–239 (46.3%) |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 34 (8 September 1986) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 3R (1984, 1985) |
| French Open | QF (1986) |
| Wimbledon | QF (1982) |
| US Open | QF (1984) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (1989) |
| French Open | W (1982) |
| Wimbledon | W (1983,1984) |
John Lloyd (born 27 August 1954) is a British former professionaltennis player. Lloyd reached anATP world ranking of 23 in July 1978, and was ranked as UK number 1 in 1984 and 1985. He now works as a tennis commentator.
During his career, he reached oneGrand Slam singles final – losing toVitas Gerulaitis in the 1977 Australian Open. Lloyd won three Grand Slammixed doubles titles with tennis partnerWendy Turnbull: theFrench Open in 1982 andWimbledon in 1983 and 1984. Lloyd was a member of the Great Britain team that reached the final of the1978 Davis Cup, losing to the United States.
He was the first husband of the former top woman playerChris Evert and is the younger brother of the former British Davis Cup captainDavid Lloyd. He served as the British Davis Cup captain himself from August 2006 until March 2010.[1] He is a member of theAll England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Lloyd was educated atSouthend High School for Boys, a stategrammar school inSouthend-on-Sea inEssex, in southeast England.[2]
At theAustralian Open in December 1977, Lloyd became the first British male tennis player in theOpen era to reach a Grand Slam singles final. He lost in five sets to America'sVitas Gerulaitis.[3] No other British player reached a Grand Slam final for 20 years, until British-CanadianGreg Rusedski reached the US Open final in 1997. In 1984 he reached the quarter-finals of the US Open. Lloyd never progressed beyond the third round in singles play atWimbledon.
Though he did not win a Grand Slam singles title, Lloyd won three Grand Slam mixed doubles titles partnering Australia'sWendy Turnbull, beginning with theFrench Open mixed doubles in 1982. The pair finished runners-up in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon that year, and then went on to win the Wimbledon mixed doubles crown in both 1983 and 1984.
Lloyd's career-high singles ranking was World No. 23 in 1978. He was a member of the British team that reached the final of theDavis Cup that year with Lloyd himself losing in straight sets in the singles toBrian Gottfried and to a 19-year-oldJohn McEnroe.[4] As a player, he represented the BritishDavis Cup team for 11 years. His career-high doubles ranking was World No. 34 in 1986. As his playing career came to an end, Lloyd stayed within the tennis world, finding work as a coach and television commentator, and appearing on the veterans circuit.
In 2006, Lloyd was appointed the captain of Great Britain'sDavis Cup team, replacingJeremy Bates.[5] Lloyd's reign started very well, with successive victories taking the team back into the World Group, but after the retirement of bothGreg Rusedski andTim Henman in 2007 the team suffered five successive defeats, their worst run in Davis Cup history, to drop back down to the third tier of the competition. Lloyd resigned as coach in mid-2010.[6]
Since the 1990s, Lloyd has been a commentator and analyst for theBBC's tennis coverage, particularly atWimbledon. Lloyd is known for his trademark catchphrases, using the analogy of food and drink to describe tennis shots. For example, if a shot is too weak he will claim that it was "undercooked" or "needed more mustard." Conversely, if a shot is overhit he will describe it as "overcooked", having "too much juice", or "having too much mustard."
He worked forSky Sports on their coverage of the 2009 US Open.[citation needed]

In 1979, Lloyd married the World No. 1 woman player, AmericanChris Evert (who became Chris Evert-Lloyd). The media-styled "golden couple" of tennis enjoyed several years in the limelight before a separation, a short-lived reconciliation, and eventual divorce in 1987. Because of Evert's higher profile tennis career, Lloyd was sometimes jokingly referred to in the press as "Mr. Evert".[7] Aware of this negative impact on his psyche, Evert attempted to boost Lloyd's standing by the couple always insisting on being billed or announced as "International tennis star John Lloyd and his wife Chris" whenever they made personal appearances together in the UK or Australia. Their biographerCarol Thatcher (a friend of the couple) observed that this was akin to the ridiculousness of her own parents being announced as "International business executive Denis Thatcher and his wife Margaret".[8][page needed]
In 1987, Lloyd married Deborah Taylor-Bellman, an American dancing teacher, their marriage lasting 30 years, until 2017. They have two children, Aiden and Hayley. Lloyd has recounted how getting a divorce may have unintentionally helped saved his life since on moving to Florida in the US following his divorce he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which then could be treated in time. Lloyd currently lives inPalm Beach, Florida, with his girlfriend Svetlana Carroll, a Russian-born estate agent.[9]
Lloyd is a supporter of the football teamWolverhampton Wanderers. It is because of Lloyd's influence thatAndy Murray is also a Wolves fan (although Murray's 'first' club isHibernian FC[10]) and has often been seen wearing the Wolves shirt that was presented to him by Lloyd.[11]
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1977D | Australian Open | Grass | 3–6, 6–7(4–7), 7–5, 6–3, 2–6 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1982 | French Open | Clay | 6–2, 7–6 | ||
| Loss | 1982 | Wimbledon | Grass | 6–2, 3–6, 5–7 | ||
| Win | 1983 | Wimbledon | Grass | 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–5), 7–5 | ||
| Win | 1984 | Wimbledon (2) | Grass | 6–3, 6–3 |
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | 2R | A | 2R | A | F | A | A | A | Q1 | 1R | 4R | 2R | QF | NH | 0 / 7 |
| French Open | A | Q3 | 2R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 2R | A | A | 3R | 1R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 0 / 12 | |
| Wimbledon | Q1 | Q2 | 3R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 1R | 0 / 14 | |
| US Open | A | A | 2R | 2R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 3R | 3R | A | 1R | A | 4R | QF | 2R | A | 0 / 11 | |
| Strike rate | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 44 | |
Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.
| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Aug 1974 | Haverford, U.S. | Grass | 6–0, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5 | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Oct 1977 | Basel, Switzerland | Hard (i) | 4–6, 2–6, 3–6 | |
| Loss | 1–2 | Nov 1977 | Wembley, UK | Carpet (i) | 4–6, 4–6, 3–6 | |
| Loss | 1–3 | Dec 1977 | Australian Open | Grass | 3–6, 6–7, 7–5, 6–3, 2–6 | |
| Loss | 1–4 | Aug 1979 | South Orange, U.S. | Clay | 7–6(7–1), 4–6, 0–6 |
| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Feb 1974 | London, UK | Hard | 6–7, 3–6 | ||
| Loss | 0–2 | Jul 1975 | Hilversum, Netherlands | Clay | 4–6, 3–6 | ||
| Loss | 0–3 | Aug 1975 | South Orange, U.S. | Clay | 2–6, 3–6 | ||
| Win | 1–3 | Nov 1976 | London, UK | Carpet (i) | 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 | ||
| Loss | 1–4 | Mar 1977 | Helsinki, Finland | Carpet (i) | 7–5, 6–7, 4–6 | ||
| Loss | 1–5 | Jun 1977 | Queen's Club, London, UK | Grass | 1–6, 2–6 | ||
| Win | 2–5 | Oct 1979 | Maui, U.S. | Hard | 7–5, 6–4 | ||
| Loss | 2–6 | Nov 1979 | Paris, France | Hard | 6–7, 6–7 | ||
| Loss | 2–7 | Feb 1982 | La Quinta, U.S. | Hard | 4–6, 6–3, 2–6 | ||
| Loss | 2–8 | Jul 1983 | South Orange, U.S. | Clay | 2–6, 5–7 |